Published: July 29, 2011

WASHINGTON — President Obama called on Congress on Friday to produce a fiscal plan that could be passed with votes from both parties, as House Republicans hardened their position and Senate Democrats said they would move ahead with their own plan.

After a caucus meeting to round up the votes needed for House passage, Republicans said that Speaker John A. Boehner had agreed to modify his plan, which raises the debt ceiling only enough to last a few months, to make the next round of spending cuts and debt relief contingent on Congressional approval of a balanced-budget amendment to the Constitution.

That, lawmakers confirmed, won pledges of enough votes to allow Mr. Boehner to pass his bill, which was put on hold at the last minute on Thursday, with only Republican votes, including those of many from the Tea Party faction.

But Democrats said it only made the House bill more unpalatable. “This is the most outrageous suggestion I have heard,” said Senator Richard J. Durbin, the assistant Democratic leader.

“Any solution to avoid default must be bipartisan,” Mr. Obama said. “I urge Democrats and Republicans in the Senate to find common ground on a plan that can get support from both parties in the House, a plan that I can sign by Tuesday.”

Mr. Obama urged Republicans in the House and Senate to abandon a bill that “does not solve the problem” and has no chance of passage in the Senate.”

“There are a lot of crises in the world that we can’t always predict or avoid,” he said. “This isn’t one of those crises.”

In an effort to break the logjam, Senator Harry Reid, the majority leader, called on Senator Mitch McConnell, the Republican leader, to meet with him on Friday to try to resolve to the stalemate, given the failure of House Republicans to advance their own budget proposal.

“My door is open,” Mr. Reid said as the Senate convened. “I will listen to any idea to get this done in a way that prevents a default and a dangerous downgrade to America’s credit rating. Time is short, and too much is at stake, to waste even one more minute.

“The last train is leaving the station,” he said. “This is our last chance to avert default.”

It appears that the Senate will be in session around the clock this weekend.

The Democrats said they would file a motion on Friday that would start the Senate debate, running down the procedural clock while Republicans, presumably, filibustered against the Reid proposal. The first vote on breaking the filibuster would come shortly after midnight Saturday. Unless the Democrats can win over enough Republicans to cut off debate and move to approving the Reid bill or some variant, the Republicans would be forced to hold the floor continuously, awaiting some kind of deal.

Mr. McConnell, who had been working with Mr. Reid on a fallback plan, abandoned that attempt and has been supporting the effort by Mr. Boehner to push through a proposal that would raise the debt limit in two stages — an approach flatly rejected by Senate Democrats and the White House even before it was toughened with the latest demand for a constitutional amendment.

Mr. McConnell, too, came to the Senate floor on Friday and offered little indication that he was ready to deal, accusing Democrats of devoting recent days to undermining the House plan. “Our Democratic friends in the Senate have offered no solutions to the crisis that can pass either chamber,” he said.

Mr. Reid said he would be making changes to his measure to attract more support but made clear that he considered the Senate plan the final effort to avert a default next week.

“There will be no time left to vote on another bill or consider another option here in the Senate,” he said. “None.”

Mr. Reid said he had also had a “sobering” conversation on Friday with Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner about the consequences of a default.

“It is really precarious for our country,” he said.

Until now, the White House and Senate Democratic leaders had been waiting for the House to act before making their next move with an eye on the Tuesday deadline set by the Treasury Department for raising the debt ceiling or facing the possibility that the government would not be able to meet all its financial obligations. Failure to pass his proposal would have represented a significant defeat for Mr. Boehner, the first-year speaker who has invested significant political capital in trying to get his fractious majority behind the legislation, which had the strong support of the entire leadership team.

Facing that prospect, he adjusted his proposal to the right, and his opposition within the caucus evaporated.

No comments:

Post a Comment

Welcome | Greetings

Welcome to my Blog. Since launching my Blog on the 1st July 2011, I have been pleasantly surprised as to its local and globe audience.

Page views are now in excess of 182,500. I welcome your comments on the things you like about it and where you believe improvements could be made.

The postings/comments that are authored by me are my thoughts, distilled from listening to what my friends and acquaintances are saying.

Other items such as political articles, newspapers and blog links do not necessarily represent the views that I hold but are included for the express purpose of canvassing a diversity of opinions and enticing discussion.

I encourage you to have your say thereby adding to the content and richness of this Blog. It does not matter in what continent of the globe you live in or to which country you have allegiance.

I welcome political views irrespective of whether they are from the right or the left of the political spectrum. I would like my Blog to be unique with a character of its own; that it becomes a node for the free exchange of knowledge, views and information without fear or favour nor inhibited by the strangling of political correctness.

Thank you for pausing on my Blog and adding to its content and flavour.

Kind regards,

Ross Parisi

(Com. Dec )

____________ ____________

Enjoying a cup of Daintree tea or two Silky Oak Lodge

My profile

I have been involved in public life since the age of twenty three when I was first elected to the Mulgrave Shire Council.
I continue to hold a passion for the betterment of our community and I will endeavour to achieve positive change.
I am proud of my Italian/Sicilian heritage. I am particularly drawn by the principles of its cultural values and the essence of continuity.
I nurture the earth and as such I have a special affinity with the environment.
As an inquisitive human being, I am on a journey of exploration and expansion of my knowledge. I am currently studying law, politics and history at James Cook University and enjoying it immensely.
I am a Commissioner for Declarations.
My email address is: trenara@gmail.com